Yesterday was the longest day of sunshine in the year for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere. We of course, didn't notice it because there was a simmering thunderstorm that started about 5:30 pm and continued on raining until bedtime. No sunsets on the solstice in Tampa.
Summer days and summer rains are not my favorite time of year. Its hot and humid all the time. Sure, its nice to get in the pool after work and enjoy a cold beverage, but its more fun to get out and go for a walk in the sunshine, or even run an errand or go shopping. But typically, the summer rains roll in right around the time we get off work. Its always a gamble to ride a bike or motorcycle to work. Many times there is a window of weather between the rain showers and we can get home dry, but there are those days when we get soaked.
Saturday was one of those days. We went for a 40 mile ride up to Zephyrhills and stopped at a couple stores to get some free berries and razors. All the Publix stores in Tampa have cleaned out shelves of the moneymakers and free stuff, so we venture out to try to get the deals. We saw the sky was clouding up, the wind started getting stiff and the sunshine faded away. We made it most of the way, but about 2 miles from home we ran into the cloud dumping cats and dogs on us. We pulled over to take off our sunglasses and figure out what to do. We decided to take the slow way through the neighborhood because cars probably couldn't really see us well with all the rain.
I hope that's the last time that happens this year.
